Shaul Stampfer

(sign in to rate)Loot Price R1,467Discovery Miles 14 670

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The realities of Jewish life in eastern Europe that concerned the
average Jew meant the way their children grew up, the way they
studied, how they married, and all the subsequent stages of the
life cycle--including the problems of divorce, remarriage, and
elderly parents. The family and the community were in a very real
sense the core institutions of east European Jewish society. These
realities were always dynamic and evolving but in the nineteenth
century, the pace of change in almost every area of life was
exceptionally rapid. This collection of essays deals with these
social realities objectively and analytically. Some of the essays
presented here are classics that have been widely acclaimed,
earning their author a well-deserved reputation for authoritative
research; all have been comprehensively revised for this book. They
avoid both sentimental descriptions and judgmental attitudes. The
result is a picture that is far from the stereotyped view of the
past that is common today, but a more honest and more comprehensive
one. Topics covered in the studies on education consider the
learning experiences of both males and females of different ages.
They also deal with and distinguish between study among the well
off and learned (not surprisingly, the two went together) and study
among the poorer masses. A number of essays are devoted to aspects
of educating the elite. Here too, the reconstruction of the
realities of the past, as opposed to the stereotypical popular
image, reveals the remarkable creativity of what is often
mistakenly considered a highly conservative element of society.
Several essays deal with aspects of marriage, a key element in the
life of most Jews. Using both quantitative and qualitative sources,
the author has been able to identify and document characteristics
of both first and subsequent marriages and to highlight and explain
trends that have hitherto been misunderstood. The problem of aged
parents and the changing nature of the nuclear family is also
considered. The attempt to understand the rabbinate in its social
and historical context is no less revealing then the studies in
other areas. The realities of rabbinical life-the problems of
getting appointments, job security and insecurity, changing
responsibilities and the difficulties of dealing with fragmented
and modernizing communities-are presented in a way that explains
rabbinic behavior and the complex relations between communities,
ideologies, and modernization. These essays look at the past
through the prism of the lives of ordinary people, with results
that are sometimes surprising but always stimulating. The topics
they treat are varied, but the concern to explain what lay behind
the visible reality is common to all of them.